Posts Tagged ‘Reincarnation’

I don’t believe in Hell. I don’t believe in an unjust and eternal place of torment and regret. I think it’s just a scare tactic to compel me to do what others want. “If you don’t do A, B and C then you’ll rot in Hell forever but if you follow us we’ll get you on the right train” they say. It’s the basic “carrot and the stick theology”. The God I believe in could not be so A) mean, B) unjust, and C) unloving.

However, that being said, that does not mean that God is not a teacher, that God is not working with me, that God does not have plans for me. He does.

His plans require me to eventually conform(of my own choosing) to the Universal curriculum of Love, Law, and Truth. The more I resist, the more bad Karma I incur. The more good Karma I fulfil the more good Karma comes back to me.

When I first became aware of what Karma was I realized that it was only just and fair that I receive the bounty of my actions. When I loved, love was shown to me. When I did otherwise, that was shown to me also.

When I think of my impending Karma it really does terrify me. In fact though, it seems worse then Hell because it will by so very, very real.

Although this post may seem somewhat ominous I must point out that I still believe that God is fair, just, and loving. The lessons we incur are our lessons. We chose them. As we modify and amend our own behaviour we incur the good Karma. We incur God’s blessing. The beauty, symmetry and logic of such a system really is unassailable. In all honesty I can’t think of a better system. Like King David, we can each seek to redeem ourselves and seek God’s own heart. From this day forward I will change my Karma. Not as a system though, but rather again as those values, principles and Ideals that I have subsequently outlined in my other posts. I resolve to be Loving. I resolve to be Universally Lawful. I resolve to seek Truth.

“Remember, if you ever need a helping hand, it’s at the end of your arm, as you get older, remember you have another hand: The first is to help yourself, the second is to help others.”

As I’ve progressed through my life I’ve realized certain things that seemed self-evident actually require further exposition and explanation. Growing up as a child of the 60’s and the 70’s many of the people of my generation became very acquainted with the phrase, “All you need is Love.” It was the height of the hippie era and life actually seemed quite simple and direct with that wonderful appealing mantra. “Yes, all we need is Love and the world will work, the world will be better, our Universe will be Grand.” An old rock group “The Beatles” even had a song called “All You Need Is Love.” I want to abandon, change, or modify that singular concept.

I now believe that we should actually expand that Ideal to include Law and Truth. A trilogy of Ideals that are all completely intertwined and are in fact ONE IDEAL.

LAW: Somehow, someway the Universe needs, wants or has A STRUCTURE. It has a bottom line, it has a remedial and corrective force in our lives that propels us ever upward toward greater and greater goodness. We can call this Man-made Law, Natural Law, or Karmic Law.

I believe that Man-made Law is like a reflection in a pool of water. Man-made Law is just a mere watery reflection of God’s Law. In the end it is found wanting. It’s less than perfect and in fact seems to rely quite a bit upon punishment instead of remedial, corrective teaching. Still, temporarily, it’s the best that we have and the best that we can currently understand.

More attuned to God’s Laws and acting more as a true “mirror” is Natural Law. Most of this is observable by mankind in his everyday environment, i.e. Nature’s Law. When we look at our external world we find the discoverer of real world Laws: Newton’s law of universal gravitation, Newton’s law of heat conduction, Gauss’s law for magnetism, Faraday’s law of induction, Faraday’s law of electrolysis, Kepler’s laws of planetary motion.

If I understand these correctly, most of these laws are immutable. I can’t fly, I can’t go backwards in time, I can’t create a perpetual motion machine. However, if I work within the laws, I can fly in an airplane, I can learn from history, and I can become a steward of God’s earth and energy.

Last is Karmic Law. True Law. The total embodiment of Law. The will of God made manifest. What goes around, comes around. What you sow , you also shall reap. Do unto to others as you would have them do unto you. The Golden Rule. This Karma is both a backward correction and a forward momentum. It is a Universal Mill Grindstone that grinds down to make a renewed substance in refined Spiritual Flour. It also works like a Universal Weaving Loom that is constantly creating new weaves of Love and Opportunity. The one(the mill) is wearing and grinding down the supposedly useless weeds into a Renewable Spiritual Nourishment while the other(the loom) is building newer and finer tapestries of Spiritual Cohesion and Fabric.

This is why it’s important to understand science, it’s describing our world.

This is a good point also to show the main connecting point between two supposedly opposite institutions, Religion and Science. In various degrees both are interested in the…..

TRUTH: Both Religion and Science want to know how the world works. While religion frequently expounds on the truth, science tries to discover it. For one, it’s self-evident and for the other it’s a frontier. While one(religion) may appear delusional the other(Science) can appear as Godless. I don’t just gobble up the dictates of religious authorities and I also don’t believe in a world of just rocks, stars, and DNA. In actuality we are all trying to find the Truth whether we are religious scholars or scientists. We all want answers that really are self-evident and that are real.

As I expounded in my earlier post, Truth is like light. It broadcasts and illuminates everything everywhere. We all seek the truth and we all have various ways of concealing our own falsehoods. Besides the song “All We Need Is Love,” one the songwriters of the Beatles, John Lennon, wrote another great song of Spiritual Ideals called “Gimme Some Truth.” The song is really a plea for honesty, sincerity, earnestness and justice. It’s a simple plea from a single man on the state of the world.

Part of my point here is not any exaltation of the The Beatles or John Lennon but to illustrate that these ideas and Ideals are actually very common. These Ideals are sought out among Rock Stars, Religious Scholars, Scientists and everyone. Everyone wants to know the Truth. Everyone knows a little bit of truth.

LOVE: I could write a ton of words about this subject but it’s actually our greatest life lesson. It will permeate every facet of our lives as Mother, Son, Spouse, and Elder. We will each change seats in our lives and take up the different positions to learn new facets of Love and Connection. As I stumble through this life I keep finding myself in each of those different positions and marvel at the thought of each new assignment. “Oh, this time I’m the Good Son, now I’m the Good Dad, soon I’ll be the Good Grandpa(I hope I can do it).” Try as I might to write it down and capture it in a phrase or a word, it just doesn’t translate, it has to be lived.

These three Ideas are actually ONE IDEAL that are all absolutely interconnected and inseparable.

To understand how these truly do fit together we need to understand that actually each precept overlaps the other:

We can be responsible, structured, scientific and lawful and still be unloving.

We can be Truthful and still be a loveless being.

We can be Truthful and still be irresponsible, unruly and unlawful

We can Love another but still be unfaithful and untruthful.

We can Love another but still be irresponsible, unruly and unlawful

Although I could probably make an analytical Venn diagram of these three components I think that the point is made that these three are all part of ONE IDEAL. To have one without the other is a short selling of Spirituality And God.

A hundred times every day I remind myself that my inner and outer life depend upon the labors of other men, living and dead, and that I must exert myself in order to give in the measure as I have received and am still receiving.

This particular post is a kind of trilogy of understanding that I’m recently embracing and hope to share with others. We know what Love is, is there more?

Bruce McArthur has undertaken an adventuresome book. The full title is “Your Life: Why It Is the Way It Is and What You Can Do About It – Understanding the Universal Laws” by Bruce McArthur. It’s too long of a title to have as the name of this particular post. Compared with the wisdom and insight of this book the lengthy name is inconsequential . The book is ISBN #0-87604-300-7 and is about 276 pages long.

Bruce MacArthur was an Electrical Engineer and an Executive. He pondered that state of the world and had the courage to wonder “How does it work?” He was familiar with the teachings of Jesus and understood learning the lessons of Love.

In his introduction he makes a very clear case for his questions and searching. He sought to know how the Universe works. What is the Spiritual Structure of this world? What is the bottom line?

He begins his case with the thought that God’s Laws must be Universal and unmutable (unchangeable), they must apply equally to everyone. He makes the analogy of electricity laws. He learned these laws of electricity in his youth and realized that they were so perfect he could imagine and design whole circuits with nothing but pen and paper. Upon leaving his study he could then build these circuits right every time, the first time. He knew too that these electricity laws were equally good in India, Ohio, or Sweden. The electricity laws are Universal. From these simple electrical explorations he realized that God’s Laws must be like this. In fact, he again realized that even the mere electricity laws were part and parcel of God’s Laws. Nothing is separated, nothing is isolated.

He began a more earnest journey to know these Universal Spiritual Laws and eventually found the teachings of a spiritual healer that imparted these laws sensibly.

In short, but not all, some of these Laws are:

“As you sow so shall you reap”

“Like begets Like”

“There is nothing by chance”

“As you give you gain in understanding”

“Spirit is the Life, Mind is the builder, Physical is the result”

These are but a smattering of his so-called research of the Universal Spiritual Laws. In the back of the book he lists 32 separate laws that should be applicable in one’s life. They are very good laws.

My own thoughts: electricity laws and Universal Laws share other common attributes. Like electricity laws the Universal Laws are impartial, they shock, harm or alarm exactly alike or the can build and shine a light unto the world.

Addendum: I haven’t referenced the teacher healer by name because while I give credit where credit is due I realize that Mankind desperately wants to play the “My guru is better than your guru game.” If each of us searches in the same manner that Bruce McArthur has, we can actually see more, be more and understand more.

“There is an orderliness in the universe, there is an unalterable law governing everything and every being that exists or lives. It is no blind law; for no blind law can govern the conduct of living beings”

These are my observances, thoughts and opinions of Astrology. First, what Astrology is not. It is not the daily horoscope as commonly found in the newspapers. If you pay a dollar for advice you will get a dollar’s worth of advice(shades of instant karma). If you read the daily advice column you can usually be certain that it won’t be about your exact concerns and problems. Dear Abby doesn’t apply to everyone all the time. Why don’t these columns and horoscopes work? Because each and every human being is different and unique. Every Astrology Birth Chart is different. Even the stock market page advises each person to consult a broker for real financial advice.

In my opinion(which varies with much of the Astrological community) Astrology is not a psychic instrument and forecasting the future can be difficult and challenging. In short I don’t particularly find it to be a great instrument in predicting the future. However it can be useful nonetheless. Just as I might look at the weather forecast or the stock market trends or the political landscape I can possibly draw likely scenarios of the future. I just can’t do so with certainty. Three days out and the weather can completely change. There are too many variables to read to make completely accurate predictions.

It is not a religion but is it part of the spiritual as we all are. It is not science but it is mathematical and exact. Between religion and science it has become an outcast of the modern world.

In truth Astrology shares much in common with psychology. The famous psychologist Carl Jung used Astrology. A fair amount of psychologists use Astrology.

The stars do not determine our fate, they mirror our personality and reflect our likely dispositions. Our fate is still determined by us.

What the Astrology Birth Chart does do is to mirror our world.

The actual birth chart is like a snapshot of the most important moment of your life, the moment you were born. Truly the most significant moment of your life. If we had a big enough camera and snapped a picture of the universe from the exact time and place of your birth the picture and the birth chart would look the same. It would show exactly where the Sun, the Moon, Jupiter, Saturn, Venus and Mars were at that exact time/spot where you were born. This is why it’s a mirror. It’s a reflection of how you view the world.

So why is Astrology so hard to understand? One, because all of the planets and houses need to be understood in their own context and in relationship to one another. This would require homework for the true student to understand the whole picture. Another reason it’s so hard is the planets describe ourselves as energy. This is a difficult idea to understand. It’s even more difficult to describe. How do we describe a waterfall or a bonfire? How can we describe steam or electricity? How can we describe a hurricane or a sunny summer day. But in our lives we all know people who are like emotional waterfalls, fiery bonfires, hellfire hurricanes or beautiful sunny days. Any worthwhile system takes time to get a comprehensive view.

It worth it for each individual to have their own chart calculated and interpreted by a reputable Astrologer. Only by doing this can others understand. It’s a soft science in that judgements and interpretations are determined just as a psychologist does in his evaluation with patients. It’s a science in that the Birth Chart has to be calculated from the persons exact time and place of birth to determine that exact placement of the planets at the time of birth. Several books have to be consulted to calculate the chart(an ephemeris, a table of houses). The cost is minimal compared to the knowledgeable information.

A QUICK ASTROLOGY INTERPRETATION OF MY CHILDREN(please read to the end)

I can’t go over both of the children charts and there is too much in each chart to post on even one site. I have culled from the interpretation of a book called “The Only Way To Learn Astrology”. This is actually a very common book that can be found in any New Age bookstore or even in Barnes & Noble or Amazon.com

Here is their birth data. In using the book a person would read up on a planet/house combination and see if it fits the respective individual. The relevent parts that pertain to them I will have in bold and italics print.

For my example I have used the Moon indicating the mother figure(also the sign of Cancer) and the Sun/Saturn representing the Father figure.

First my son:

He has a Moon in Pisces in the 8th house. The 8th house and PISCES sign are both indicative of secrets. PISCES is also related to the 12th house of things hidden from others. This 12th house is also the house of secluded or private institutions like prisons, mental institutions, monasteries or hospitals. For our purposes it means an absent mother or secret mother.

My son has the Sun in the 12th house(house of secrets or isolation) which can also mean an absent or secret father.

My daughters information is even more direct and with one exception is quoted exactly from the book with the relevent page and line numbers.

MARS IN CANCER Page 171, line 9 of the paragraph

“Mars in Cancer can lead to an early separation from the mother”

SATURN IN THE 12TH HOUSE Page 216, Line 9 of the paragraph

“With harsh aspects, your father may have faded out of your life early”

Her Moon is in Gemini which could be interpreted to mean two mothers.

These sentences and interpretations fit nicely into their real lives because:

The children have never known their respective birth parents because my wife and I adopted them as infants.

It’s also possible to have one’s chart done online and to buy the books and read up the interpretations on one’s own. It is absolutely important that the DATE, EXACT TIME TO THE MINUTE, AND THE PLACE BE EXACT. Even so I would still highly advise that a person consult a reputable Astrologer for the best interpretation. When we look at ourselves sometimes we fudge the truth and this is another reason to consult an Astrologer personally.

What goes around, comes around. He’ll get His! One good deed deserves another.You get what you pay for. For every action there is an opposite but equal reaction. The good or bad you do to others is requited. It’ll all come out in the wash. What goes up must come down, …. and round and round we go, where we stop, nobody knows.

Have you ever met brand new “old” friends? Could this then explain the feelings one gets when they meet a new person and feel as though they have known them their whole life already? Were they friends or relatives from a past life? Could this also be the same feeling as seeing a new place that one has never been to and yet felt as though one is at “home”? Isn’t there a remembrance? We’ve lived there before and we know it. The word Deja vu from the French, from déjà, “already”, + vu, “seen”, means “already seen”. Been there, done that.

Whenever I see Civil War Reenactors I wonder how many are just reenacting their own past lives.

Life’s current unexplainable fears may be the result of bad past life experiences. A fear of heights, a fear of open water, a fear of closed spaces could all be the result of bad experiences in the environments or situations of a past life.

Our talents could be the result of many past lives in that career or occupation. Maybe Mozart was a musician for many, many lives. Maybe Albert Einstein was Isaac Newton. Then maybe Isaac Newton was Galileo Galilei. Then maybe he was……you get the picture.

It’s not just the things we do that have effect, it’s also the things that we don’t do. There are the sins of commission and the sins of omission. Not only must people love one another but they must also stand up for one another. Besides helping them and loving them we also must stand up for them. Their business is our business(unless they tell us otherwise).

Although I like to figure what the outcomes and possibilities are for karma, it also scares me because it is right on the cusp of me judging them. Should every World War German officer come back as a Jew, should every Plantation Owner come back as a slave? Should every laborer become capitalist or every servant become exalted King ? It’s not for us to say but for us to tread lightly ourselves.

How does it work again? As like the natural law that we observe all around us. For every action there is an equal and opposite reaction – Newton. All that we do is reflected all around us. If we help a child to read in this life then the next life will have others helping us to read. If we are selfish, then we can expect others to be selfish. If we exhibit unwarranted pride, we can expect to be thrust in with those that are unnecessarily prideful and boastful. If we control another person, in the next life we can expect to be controlled. If we raise a loving family we can expect to be raised in a loving family.

Why would normal people believe such far fetched ideas? Isn’t reincarnation crazy, isn’t it a religious belief in India?

It takes a lot of courage to step out on one’s own and listen to other ideas that may be true.

In 1901 Oliver Bartho gave Henry Ford a thin volume book call “A Short View Of Great Questions“. It was written by Orlando Jay Smith and contained a lengthy explanation of reincarnation that greatly excited Ford. For the rest of his life Henry Ford espoused to any that would listen that he believed in reincarnation. Why would Henry Ford believe such a UnAmerican Idea? Because Ford was a Mechanic. He understood cause and effect. He knew that when one piston goes down another piston must go up. That to get B to work you have to do A. That there is a continuity of motion from one object to another. This is Karma and he understood it. He also felt that this explained his abilities and gifts for mechanical things, his talent for building things and designing things. These were talents that he felt were acquired from previous lives. Wouldn’t that explain why some people have exceptional skills and abilities, because they have been learning them for lifetimes.

Genius is experience. Some seem to think that it is a gift or talent, but it is the fruit of long experience in many lives. – Henry Ford

I believe we are reincarnated. You, I, we reincarnate over and over. We live many lives, and store up much experience. Some are older souls than others and so they know more. It seems to be an intuitive “gift.” It is really hard-won experience.

Let me cut to the quick with some of what I’ve been talking about. How can we all get to heaven? Why do some people suffer? Why do some people succeed? What contains Science, Philosophy, Religion, Law and Love. Reincarnation does. It’s Science in that it is Truth, a main objective of science. It’s philosophy in that it’s a way to live(a way to succeed). It’s a religion in that it is of God and from God(God being patient love and Toughlove). It’s law because it is just, equitable, constant,and unchangeable. It is Love because God created Time and Space for mankind to exercise” free will” while all the time ever holding out our reunion with the Him, the Creator. Again not by force, but by our own will and choice.

Reincarnation is the belief that we return to earth in life after life until we have achieved the God Consciousness. Until we have learned the Golden Rule. We return to learn from our past mistakes and grow by our spiritual understandings.

For example if an individual was prejudice of certain minorities, wouldn’t it be justice to return as a member of that minority. Wouldn’t it be just for that person to experience the same prejudice that the individual created in their prior life. Not as punishment but as God’s classroom. This is called Karma. We reap what we sow.

If we as individuals help one another and care for one another don’t we reap those good fortunes in the next life. Are those favored people lucky or just spiritually wise and experienced?

Like all great things it’s simple and complicated. It takes awhile for an individual to wrap their head around such a grand idea.

Karma is not like Deus ex machina, the “God out of a box” that solves all problems instantly. He doesn’t come down and rap you on the knuckles. Instead it’s more like a Mandala or like looking through a child’s Kaleidoscope. No matter what way you turn the dial it forms a perfect and symmetrical design. Our lives move by design. Each of our lives are like that. Each of our lives are like a fantastic diamond. Some are rough and some are polished.

Spirituality 102 coming soon!!!

“I’m a great believer in the hereafter, in karma, in reincarnation. It does make sense. I believe that God is not just a law-giver, but a creative artist. The greatest of all. And what characterises artists is that they want to redo their work. Maybe it didn’t come off perfectly, so they want to see it done again, and improved. Reincarnation is a way for God to improve his earlier works.” —Norman Mailer